Her Choice
by Babe Ruthless
Summary: If it was her choice, if she thought him worthy enough, then that would make loving her okay, wouldn't it? Valduggery!Read and Review


**Okay, so this is my first story thing ever posted on this site. I'm still on the second book in the series so if any of my facts are wrong, please don't give me crap about it. I hate getting crap from people. Just tell me nicely. So yeah, that's about it….review if you will please. Skulduggery Pleasant and it's characters belong to Derek Landy. I am only borrowing them.**

Skulduggery Pleasant watched his partner dive into the chilly waters of Lake Michigan, in her rather small black bikini. It could barely contain her breasts, and had a habit of bunching up when she dived, revealing almost more than Skulduggery could handle. He'd had to restrain himself on multiple occasions since arriving at the beach. If he hadn't, then the two of them would probably be doing something very different at the current moment.

God, she was beautiful. Her luscious dark brown hair was damp and spilled down her shoulders like a waterfall. Her chocolate brown eyes were filled with joy and they seemed to glow. She was smiling, her cheeks red with windburn. Skulduggery loved her face. He loved her stubbornness and her determination. He loved the way she could take down a vampire in only five minutes. He loved how she looked when fought, how focused and concentrated she was. He loved everything about her and she could never know.

He didn't deserve Valkyrie. She was young, only nineteen. He was over five hundred years old. What did he have to offer her? Sure, he had gained back his flesh with the help of a necromancer, but none of his organs worked. If they were together, he couldn't give her a baby, even if he desperately wanted to. Well, he didn't know this for sure, but if his other organs didn't work, why should that one? He couldn't provide for her because he had no job-he was only a freelance detective. Of course, she would probably live off of Gordon's royalties for the rest of her life, but the point was the same. He had nothing to give her. She didn't deserve a much older former skeleton detective. She could do much better.

"You're brooding again," Tanith said as she came to sit by him at the end of the dock. Why Valkyrie had insisted upon bringing her with them on their Sanctuary paid vacation he had no idea. Tanith was far too observant and nosy for her own good. Not to mention that she continued to bug him about Valkyrie.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Skulduggery said, his eyes trained on Valkyrie as she moved through the waves. "I'm simply enjoying the view."

"You mean Valkyrie and her traveling bikini top." Tanith sighed. "Stop being such a moron. There's a reason why she wore that particular bathing suit. Think hard, Skul. I know your brain technically doesn't work, but I think you can figure it out."

"She deserves better," the detective said, tearing his eyes off of Valkyrie to look at Tanith.

"Who better than the man who has done nothing but protect and save her?"

He didn't answer. Tanith sighed again.

"God, will you stop being such a noble person for once, and do what you really want to do, what Val wants you to do? Everyone can tell how you feel about her and vice versa. It's fairly obvious. You get this lovesick puppy dog look on your face every time she talks, or looks in your direction. Jesus, open your eyes!" Tanith exclaimed frustrated.

Skulduggery shook his head. "I'm over five hundred years old, Tanith. She's nineteen. I'm way too old for her anyways."

"And you look just a little older than me, and I'm one hundred." Tanith pointed out. "Age doesn't matter when you live for hundreds, even thousands of years."

"You know, you're getting quite annoying." he said, glaring at her.

"You're not the only one getting annoyed. You should see the look on Val's face when she flirts with you and you blatantly ignore her."

Skulduggery was silent for a moment, and when he spoke his voice was soft, barely able to be heard over the crashing of the waves. "I have nothing to give her. She deserves better."

Tanith just shook her head and looked away, obviously frustrated with him. Why the man just couldn't be happy, she had no idea. But it bugged the crap out of her, and everyone else.

The detective removed his hat and jumped off the dock, sliding into the water. He pushed himself through the strong current to where his partner was. Valkyrie grinned and splashed him as he came close.

"Took you long enough," she said, smiling at him. Skulduggery felt his heart give a pang.

"I just didn't feel like getting into the water," he said, splashing her back.

"And now you do?" Valkyrie asked flirtatiously.

"Yes," Skulduggery sniffed. Valkyrie laughed threw her arms around him, squashing her breasts against him. He had a hard time ignoring them. He had to resist. This was for her. She deserves better, he reminded himself. He was doing the right thing.

Was he?

* * *

It was late at night. Skulduggery was in his hotel room, sitting on his bed, trying to not think about Valkyrie. In his effort he had somehow procured some obscure crime novel. He tried to distract himself with it and was failing miserably.

The door opened and in came Valkyrie, wrapped up in a silk bathrobe. Where had she gotten one of those? Skulduggery was actually doing a fairly decent job of ignoring her, until she slid onto the bed right next to him.

"Am I bothering you, Detective?" Her lips were at his ear and she was speaking in a seductive whisper. How the bloody hell had she learned to talk like that? Probably Tanith. He would have to have a word with Tanith.

"No, not at all." Skulduggery managed to say, keeping his tone indifferent. It wasn't bothering him actually. He was enjoying it, however hard he tried to hide it.

"Then you won't mind if I do this, will you Detective?" She slid on top of him, tossing his book to the ground. "What about this detective?" She removed her robe, tossing it on the book, revealing nothing but a silk scrap of fabric that he supposed were panties, and an equally skimpy silk bra. Oh, no it didn't bother him at all. "Am I bothering you now?"

This had to end now, before it went too far. "Valkyrie-" he started to speak, but was cut off by Valkyrie's lips on his. She was kissing him, hard, and he-no matter how much he wanted to deny it-was more affected by it than all of her other attempts. Her hands roamed up and down his lean body, while his did some exploring of their own. This was better than what he had imagined. He loved how she tasted, how she felt, how she-

No! This had to end! She deserved better than him! Skulduggery pushed his partner off of him and jumped out of the bed, backing away towards the wall. He instantly regretted his actions. Valkyrie's face dropped and she looked so hurt, sad, and rejected that it broke the detective's non-functioning heart.

"Please, Skul." Her voice wasn't the seductive one it had been moments before. Now it was desperate and full of longing. "Please love me, if only for tonight. God, please do it, I love you so much I can hardly stand it. I need you, Skul."

Skulduggery hesitated for a moment. This was her choice. If it was her choice and she decided that she was worthy of him, then it would be fine. He looked back at her, at her beautiful, desperate face, and his decision was made. He kicked off his pants and shirt, and climbed back into the bed.

Valkyrie settled back on top of him and trailed kisses down his neck and chest. While she did that, the detective removed the two scraps of cloth from her body. The two then tangled together, and for the rest of night were content to be with each other.

* * *

Valkyrie Cain woke up early the next morning, with Skulduggery still sleeping next to her. She smiled as memories from the previous night flood her mind. She touched her slightly swollen lips gingerly.

He loved her. She'd always knew he had, deep in her heart, and now he had proven it to her physically.

She thought back to the day when she had first realized she loved him. It had happened back when she was sixteen. He had still been a skeleton then and she really couldn't find anything physically attractive about him. They had been out fighting the bad guys as usual when a sudden explosion had knocked them to the ground. Skulduggery had landed next to her and as several rounds of explosion went off, he jumped on top of her, shielding her with his own body. He had stayed there until they were finally finished and in that time it had struck Valkyrie that Skulduggery was the best man she had ever known besides her father. He was smart, kind, compassionate, a perfect gentleman. He had always protected her to the best of his ability, no matter what the situation was. And then had come the realization that she loved him, that she always had loved him, and always would.

Beside her, Skulduggery began to stir. His dark grey eyes opened and met her own chocolate eyes immediately. He smiled up at her.

"Good morning," he said, his voice soft. Valkyrie loved how his voice was only that soft when he was around her.

"Morning," she smiled back at him. He reached up with his hand and stroked her face before pulling her to him so he could kiss her.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" Skulduggery asked her when they broke apart.

"No." Valkyrie said blushingly. Then she paused. "How beautiful?"

"More beautiful than all the stars in the sky at night and all the models on the runway." he told her. "Magnificent. Stunning. If Da Vinci had wanted to paint a true masterpiece, he would have painted your face instead of his own while he was in drag when he created the Mona Lisa."

"You're not that bad looking yourself," she joked. Then she grew serious. "I love you, Skul, and I always will. I love you more than anything."

"I love you more." he said.

"Really? Prove it."

"My dear," he said as he pulled her beneath him. "I will prove it to you, again and again and again." He kissed her gently on the lips, and then the fun began all over again.

* * *

Tanith Low was not a patient person. She, Valkyrie, and that boneheaded detective were supposed to go on a tour of South Haven that morning at ten 'o' clock, but at ten minutes to ten, neither were in sight.

At five minutes to ten, she began to bang on Skulduggery's door. "Get up, Skul, we're going to be late for the tour. If you don't get up now, I'm coming in there and believe me, that is not something you want me to do."

His voice came back muffled. "Go away, Tanith. I'm busy at the moment."

"Doing what?" Tanith snorted. "Washing your hair?"

"Tanith, we're busy right now. If you could come back later that would be very helpful." This time it was Valkyrie's voice that came back muffled through the door. Tanith gaped at the door, from behind which she could hear giggling, which then turned into heavy breathing and muffled moans.

"Bloody hell!" she exclaimed, while a mother with her children passed her, giving her a dirty look. "He finally made a move on her!" She banged on the door. "Way to go, Val! Yeah!" The muffled laughter was back.

Suddenly, the tour didn't seem so important anymore. She could go by herself and let her friends have a good time together. Why did she even need to go on the tour anyway? Tanith was now much too busy for that. There were phone calls to be made, winnings from bets to be collected, and people to talk to.

And besides, she could bug Valkyrie and Skulduggery later.

**Epilogue**

Skulduggery waited for Valkyrie outside of the bathroom in their hotel in New York. They were finally going home, back to Ireland, to Dublin, and to Haggard. Tanith had gone back home almost three months ago, muttering something about collecting her winnings. Skulduggery really didn't want to know what she was talking about, because it was probably guaranteed to annoy him.

It had already been decided that Skulduggery would move into Gordon's mansion with Valkyrie once they got back. That is, after they told her parents they were dating. He had no clue on to how that would work out-Valkyrie had confided in him that her father thought him to be in some sort of cult or something like that. Her mother, she'd reasoned, would be more accepting of the whole thing. Probably.

Valkyrie exited the bathroom and while she did she slid a little white stick into his hand. She then went to sit on the bed, and watched him expectantly. Skulduggery looked at her curiously, before opening his hand to look at the little white stick with the pink plus sign on the end of it-wait, pink plus sign?

No way. He'd always thought he couldn't get anyone pregnant. This was-this was-absolutely fantastic!

He looked back at Valkyrie. "I don't know how we're going to explain this to your parents."

"I figured we'd just go in and see how it turned out." Valkyrie said with a shrug.

"That's the plan?" Skulduggery gaped in disbelief at her. She'd taken his signature plan and intended to use it to tell her parents she was pregnant.

God, he loved this woman.

"Get over here," he said and she obliged, grinning happily. He took her into her arms and kissed her. "So a baby, huh?" he said after they broke apart for air.

"A baby," she said, still grinning. "Think you can handle that, Detective? It includes nine months of mood swings and cravings, then after that comes hours of hard labor. Think you can stick around for all that and stay sane at the same time?"

"I think so," Skulduggery said, kissing her on the forehead. "You, me, and Skulduggery junior. Sounds like a party."

"Sounds like a family," Valkyrie corrected and kissed him once more.

**So that's it. If you like it, tell me, and I might consider writing a sequel of sorts. If you hate it, tell me, and then I'll see what I can do to fix it, if it can be fixed. Remember, I'm only on book two so my information might not be accurate. Review! Review! Review!**


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